Traffic signal



Maid@ 1g, 1941.

E. E. RAMSFECK TRAFFIC 'SIGNAL Filed Feb. 22, 1938 ffl/m f FMS/mfPatented Mar. 18, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

My invention relates to traflic signals and has for its object toprovide a new and highly eflicient traiiic .signal light which is somade that the approaching tran-lc can plainly see just how much 5 timethey haveto reach the corner before the light changes.

A further object is to provide a traiiic signal which mainly consists ofa rotating plate or dial having one-half open for clear visibility andone-half perforate or made of transparent material so that when theplate is rotating the clear space indicates clearly what light is on butalso the perforate or transparent portion indicates the length of timewhich the driver will have before the next change of light.

A still further object is to provide a traffic light which has arotating circular dial having part perforate and part open and with theexterior'of the dial carrying a circuit control brush adapted to engagea circular armature or contact segment to change the lights in therespective sections of the device when the dia-1 is rotated.

A still further obj ect is to provide a traiiic light which Will beenclosed within a casing with a clear glass front to protect therotating dial from storms, sleet, frost, and snow, and keep dirt fromentering the casing but yet having the rotating dial in front of thecolored glass segments of the lighted traffic signal.

These and other objects I accomplish with the device illustrated in theaccompanying drawing in which similar numerals and letters of referenceindicate like parts throughout the several views and as described in thespecification formn ing a part of this application and pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a vertical section of the single direction traflic signal.

Figure 2 is a face view of the signal.

Figure 3 is a face View of the light section showing the colored'glasssections in place.

Figure 4 is a face View of Figure 3 with the colored glass removed.

Figure 5 is a rear view of the rotating dial or plate.

Figure 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic viewof the electrical circuit of the device.

In the drawing I have shown the casing of the device as A, cylindricalin form and having a dividing partition 5 therein to divide theoperating chamber C from the rest of the casing. Within the casing A atthe open end thereof I mount the frustoeconical illuminating chamber Bwhich (Cl. ITT- 327) chamber B is divided into four separatecompartments 6, 'I, 8 and 9. The small end of the frustum is cl-osed byan end l andthe compartments are separated by four partitions II, I2, I3and I4. In the base plate I0 in each compartment there is a light globeG which is used to illuminate the separate compartments.

Around the perimeter of the large end of base of the frusturn concentrictherewith-and sup-v ported in a U-shaped insulation channel I I providea commutator ring, made of separate segments I'I, I8, I 9 and 20, spacedapart and insulated from each other. These segments are each connectedwith their respective light globe G by awire 2|, and the globes areprovided with a. wire 22 for grounding the circuit. Centrally throughthe frustum and extending out both ends there is a drive shaft 23carrying a signal dial 24 on the end adjacent the base of the frustumand with the other end of the shaft extended back into the operatingcompartment or chamber C. This shaft is carried in a cylindricalinsulating sleeve 25 and is passed through an insulated sleeve orbearing 26 in the partition 5 and through an insulating bearing 21 inthe center of the colored glass: face D.

The rotating signal dial 24 is formed with a circular rim 28 and a crossbrace 29, diametrically across the dial and ione-half of the dial isleft open and the other side closed by a screen 30 or a perforate plate.It will also be obvious that this' plate might be some translucentmaterial which would permit passage of light rays therethrough withoutthe intense direct light passing therethrough.

The rear end of the shaft 23 carries a pinion 32, said pinion meshingwith a ring gear 33 which ring gear is driven by a vertical shaft 34,said shaft being insulated and set in bearings 35 at the top and bottomof the casing yA. A platform 36 is provided on which a motor M ismounted the motor drive shaft carrying a pinion 31 meshing with a ringgear 38 being secured onto the vertical shaft 34 to drive the shaft fromthe motor M. This rotation of the shaft 34 turns the gear Wheel 33 andthe pinion 32 which turns the shaft 23 and thereby rotates the dial 24.This dial is always set to run clockwise and if more-than one signal isdesired at an intersection where there are four directions of travelthere can be other casings tted to the casing A with drive pinionsmeshing with the gear 33 as shown by the dotted indication 4U, in Figurel.

The colored glass face is made of four sections with the section 42green, the narrow section 43 yellow, the side section 44 red, and theother narrow section 45 yellow to indicate the go, caution, and stopsignals usually used on such types of lights.

The contact for changing the lights is provided by a spring brush 48mounted on the back side of the signal dial 24 in alignment with thebrace 29 so that as the dial is rotated the circuit will be changed fromone segment of the commutator to the next succeeding segment as the dialrotates thereover.

A commutator disk t is mounted on the shaft 23 in the chamber C and theelectrical energy is introduced to the disk and the shaft through` abrush 5|, a pressure spring 52 and a wire 53, with the spring and brushmounted in a block 54 secured to the partition 5.

To prevent the electrical energy from traveling up the shaft 34 to themotor, the shaft 34 may be cut into two pieces and spaced apart andVheld in fixed relation to each other for 'transmitting the power fromthe motor to the .shaft 23 by a sleeve 55 of non-conducting insulationsecured to the shaft pieces by set screws or other suitable means.

The front of the casing A is closed by a clear glass shield 41 to keepice, snow and storms from affecting the operation of the device.

It will be obvious that modifications may be made in the details ofconstruction without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the claims.

Having thus described my invention I desire to secure by Letters Patentand claim:

1. In a traiic signal the combination of a casing; partitions in saidcasing dividing the interior into different sized areas; colored glassmounted over each area; a plate adapted to be rotated in front of saidcolored sections, said plate having one portion open and the otherportion perforate to permit only partial light transmissiontherethrough; and means to illuminate the area back of any given area asthe plate is rotating over said area.

2. In a traine signal the combination of diierent lighted areas havingdifferent colors to indicate stop and go signals to trahie; a rotatingplate mounted in front of said lighted areas said plate to control theareas lighted by a coacting brush and armature; and one portion of saidplate being open with the other portion translucent to allow light topass therethrough but not clearly so the traine can gauge the timebefore each change of color of the lighted area.

3. In a traflic signal control plate the combination of a traine lightdivided into suitable various colored areas to indicate stop, go, andcaution, in their respective colors; a vision control plate adapted tobe rotated th-ereover said plate having one portion open and the otherperforate to permit clear view of part of the face of the light but topermit a portion of the light to pass through the obscured portion toindicate to traino when a light change is to be made.

4l A traine signal of the class described comprising, a casing dividedinto t'wo compartments with the forward compartment carrying partitionstherein dividing it into four radial chambers each of which is providedywith' a light globe; colored glass mounted in the opening of eachchamber; a plate adapted to be rotated axially in front of said chambersaid plate having one half portion formed'perforate and the other areaopen to permit ready passage of light through the open area andobstructed-passage of light through the perforate half portion; means toilluminate the light globes as the plate is rotated; and a clearglass-covering over the face of the casing to enclose the plate againststorm, ice and sleet.

EDVVIN E. RAMSPECK.

